The Thief Lord: Scipio's Savior
by Ivy Milligan-Winchester
Summary: After the so-called "Thief Lord" Scipio is discovered to be no more than a fraud by his friends, he is discovered by his family and thrown out of his house. He briefly meets a strange girl...his savior...he would be dead without her...
1. Chapter 1

Prosper glared fiercely at Scipio. "Thief Lord. More like Thief Liar."

Scipio looked from Prosper to Riccio, from Mosca to Bo, to Hornet, who's tears cut lines down her dirty face.

"Please, Bo!" He pleaded.

But not even Bo would speak for his former idol. Finally, Mosca stepped up to Scipio. Scipio's eyes widened. Would Mosca, of all people, stand up for him? Instead, Mosca started to sob.

"Why would you lie to us?!" He cried. "We TRUSTED you! We thought you'd understand us because you-you-we're like...us!"

At this, Hornet stepped up to Mosca, wrapping a spindly arm around his shoulder. Pulling Mosca back, Hornet stepped up now. There was a sharp sound, like a whip being cracked, and Scipio realized that Hornet had slapped him. A cool trickle ran down his face, and the others realized, with a pang of guilt, that one of Hornet's long fingernails has split his cheek. Covering his face, Scipio ran out of the _Stella Theater, _where he broke down and cried hard.

He got home late, and, as expected, his father, _Dottor Massimo, _was waiting for him, furious. As Scipio opened the large door, his father grabbed him by his longish black hair and pulled him to the stairs, throwing him roughly down onto them. Scipio cried out as his side struck something sharp; it was one of his father's letter openers. Scipio could feel blood running down inside of his black long coat, but payed no attention to it as his father started to shout.

"You ungrateful snake! I treat you kind, I let you have an education, and then you go and _STEAL FROM THIS HOUSE!_"

At this, _Dottor_ held one hand up. Clutched tightly in it was sugar tongs, the same ones that Scipio had filched from his own house not a week ago. Scipio knew his father knew it was him, saw that there was no way he could lie his way out of his mess, his _lies. _Suddenly, however, the _Dottor _seized Scipio by his black coat, and hauled him out the door of his large home.

"Stay away from here, _thief_!" the _Dottor_ cried, slamming the door and locking it behind him.

Scipio sat on the front steps, bewildered and scared and sick of himself. Them, slowly, he got up, and started running, away from his problems, away from everything.

He would throw himself into the canal.

He ran halfway to the _Stella_, and then turned down an alley which led directly to the back streets of Venice, the back doors of shops, the abandoned apartments left to rot...a perfect place to end his thirteen-year, miserable life. He put a hand to his side, feeling blood still rushing out of him, and stood at the very end of the canal, high-heeled boots almost off of the pier. A sudden wave of lightheadedness suddenly swept over him, P_robably from the blood loss, _he told himself, _ but it would all be over soon, so soon..._

Just as Scipio was about to jump, he heard an urgent voice, and heard feet rushing towards him. But he couldn't see, exactly; his vision seemed to be tinged with red.

"Hey! Stop!" Scipio could hear a voice far, so far away, and briefly make out a girl's dirty face, looking worriedly at him. But only briefly; Scipio's legs crumpled under him, and he fell backwards onto the pavement, the girl catching him before his head hit the cobblestone.


	2. Chapter 2

Scipio woke up somewhere obviously softer than the cold pavement, head throbbing, stomach aching, gagging. His coat was off, and he could heel his side bound with cloth under his shirt. Withour opening his dark brown eyes, he touched the bandage, his groggy mind tried to figure out where he was, but even thinking about the events beforehand made him feel worse than before. No matter; the question was answered soon for him as a person walked up to the bed and sat down on it lightly. Opening his eyes a bit, Scipio could see it was a girl, the same girl who had yelled at him to stop last night. Suddenly, she slowly reached up and brushed Scipio's hair back from his forehead. It took all of Scipio's self-control not to jump; still, though, his eyes stayed closed; it felt nice, a gentle touch, so different from his father's rough discipline. As the girl got up to leave, finally Scipio opened his eyes, though the girl had walked away already. Scipio cursed. He should have opened his eyes sooner. As it was, he took the time to look around. He realized they were in a house, it looked like, and a small one too, judging by the wooden, unpainted walls. That's why she was so dirty last night, Scipio thought. She was poor, clearly lower than him in society. In spite of everything, Scipio found himself smiling at that. What would his father say now if he found Scipio after trying to commit suicide, saved by a lowerclassmen of Venice? The smile vanished from Scipio's face. He knew exactly what his father would say. "Come away now, Scipio. You shouldn't be around this...type." Scipio imagined his father saying. And suddenly, Scipio realized he was crying. Pulling the sheets over his head, he sobbed quietly, but hard. Suddenly, the girl was sitting on the bed again. However, Scipio did not acknowledge her. He started as she lay a warm hand on him. Rubbing his back, the girl said, "I can only guess at what you've been through. But it's okay now." She said. Scipio shook his head. "Nothing will ever be okay again."


	3. Chapter 3

The day passed slowly, and despite the girl trying (in vain) to cheer Scipio up, he sank into a deep depression. Finally, the cheery disposition left the girl, and as she walked into Scipio's room she scowled, seeing Scipio buried under the blankets once again. Slamming down the tray of food that she was carrying, she walked over to Scipio's bed and whipped the covers off of him, tousling his hair and making him shiver in the chilly air. He turned around to glare at her with red-rimmed, crying eyes.

"What do you want?"

"For you to stop being so unhappy!" the girl cried. "I mean,_ honestly_, someone saves you and you don't even bother to learn their name before covering yourself in guilt! It's so _rude_!"

Scipio's almost-black eyes widened in surprise. He shifted in the creaking bed, and looked up into her tired face. He opened his mouth to apologize, to say _something_, but before he could get the words up his sore throat the girl launched into another part of her lecture.

"Don't you realize how much I've been doing for you? _I've been staying up every night__ to make sure something doesn't happen to you!_"

Scipio realized the girl, for some reason, was near tears. As she stopped yelling, chest heaving, he put out a hand and caught hers in it.

"I'm sorry." he said, putting the most sincerity in it that he could. "I didn't mean to offend you. I really am grateful for you saving me. Now, what is your name?"

The girl gave a small smile.

"No, you aren't grateful. You wanted to die. And my name is Elma."

The girl quickly left the room as Scipio brooded over the girl. _Elma. _Italian for _protection._


End file.
